2nd Annual LACCD Achieving the Dream Retreat at LAMC

The sold-out (100 seats) 2nd Annual LACCD Achieving the Dream Retreat was a huge success. The day begin with a keynote address given by Ken O’Donnell, Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Policy for the Office of the Chancellor of the California State University—the world’s largest public system of four-year universities. Ken is responsible for statewide curriculum development and articulation throughout the CSU system, with an emphasis on student success and the broadly transferable skills of liberal education: oral and written communication, problem-solving, collaboration, multicultural competence, and critical thinking. He also serves as the liaison for the California State University’s partnership with LEAP, and for the CSU’s participation in the Give Students a Compass initiative. Ken O’Donnell also has a blog, Diffusion of Light, where he writes about the state of higher education in California and the nation.

BREAKOUT 1

Education is about changing minds. At its most basic level it is about confronting and changing habits of mind.

No doubt, we teach subject matter and information. But even more so we strive to inculcate the skills of acquiring and questioning information and knowledge. We want students to effectively organize what they’ve learned to address problems and to question, set and accomplish their goals.

This session is for those interested in understanding and building the habits of mind that surround goal achievement. This session will introduce a range of habits of mind and illustrate how they can be developed in the classroom, through the use of support services, and infused across campus. Session participants will also consider implications for their own campus initiatives.

Handouts from Habits of Mind Presentation

Session B, CAI/Room #228: Evaluating Student Success Initiatives

This session will explore both formative and summative evaluation techniques, the use of logic models and creating an evaluation timeline and plan. The most common Achieving the Dream student success strategies will be discussed and possible outcomes and measures identified.

BREAKOUT 2

Session A, CAI/Room# 227: First Year Pathways: Giving Students a Strong Start

This session is for those interested in understanding and building first year pathways to ensure students get off to a strong start and complete substantial units towards their educational goals. This session will introduce a range of approaches and illustrate how they can be initiated and scaled. Session participants will also consider implications for their own campus efforts, including their participation in the district-wide Persistence Inquiry Project (PIP). PIP consists of faculty and administrators are developing an action research group on their campus to study the definition of persistence and investigate how to implement institutional changes that increase student persistence. In addition to learning about campus efforts, presenters will share the survey results of the district wide “Defining Persistence” survey.

Handouts from PCC presentation

Session B, CAI/Room #228: Evaluating Student Success Initiatives

This session will explore both formative and summative evaluation techniques, the use of logic models and creating an evaluation timeline and plan. The most common Achieving the Dream student success strategies will be discussed and possible outcomes and measures identified.